The Head leads, directs and manages the technical operations and administration of the Donor Tissue Bank of Victoria. They must ensure services meet quality assurance standards and certification and licensing is maintained, and that all processes and procedures comply with legislation, codes of practices and ethical standards. They are also responsible for overseeing the testing of all specimens for bacterial and viral infection and reviewing all tissue before it is released from quarantine for transplantation.

The Transplant & Family Liaison Coordinators are responsible for screening all cases admitted through the Coronial Services Centre, to identify potential tissue donors.  This involves screening medical records and social history of the deceased, assessing the condition of deceased persons, obtaining information regarding the death and making families aware of the possibility of donating and offering them the opportunity to consent to donation if they wish.  In addition, they also approach families of deceased persons for consent to donation of tissue required for research purposes, other than transplantation.  As potential donors die in unexpected and tragic ways and as the time involved in tissue retrieval is short, the families are approached at a very stressful time.

In addition, the Transplant and Family Liaison Coordinators contact families regarding diagnostic organ retention, and facilitate this process. They also provide health information to families resulting from autopsy findings and offer ongoing support and assistance.

The Bank's scientific and technical staff are responsible along with the Retrieval staff, for the retrieval of tissue within strict time limits.  They are also responsible for the timely processing of tissue which consists of the surgical removal of adjoining tissue or trimming of tissue to meet transplant requirements.  Antibiotic washes follow this, then sterile packaging and storage in quarantine until all test results are available.   Following this the scientists are responsible for the subsequent dispatch of donor tissue to surgeons upon request.  This includes liaising with surgeons on a daily basis and discussing their requirements.  The scientific staff are also responsible for the x-raying and irradiation of bones, sterile/aseptic collection and microbiological analysis of biological samples, maintenance and sterilisation of equipment, maintaining the tissue processing areas and performing validation studies to assist in further developments.  They appreciate the generosity of donors and their families, and as such great care is taken in the procurement of tissue to ensure the integrity of the deceased. The donor is always treated with respect.

The scientific staff also includes a microbiologist whose task it is to provide diagnostic microbiology services on specimens from autopsies for the VIFM, Quality Control testing for the DTBV, and serological testing for infectious diseases on coronial cases (HIV, Hepatitis C) and on donors (HIV, Hepatitis B and C, HTLV, syphilis).                                                                    

The Bank's retrieval staff are trained mortuary technicians from the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine.  It is the job of this team to surgically retrieve tissue under sterile conditions within strict time limits.  This is performed with great care to preserve the dignity of the donor and to ensure the tissue is safe and of the highest quality for transplant.  The retrieval staff also reconstruct the donor following the retrieval process, allowing a normal viewing of the body to take place if the family so desires.  The donor is reconstructed so that they look the same as they did before retrieval of tissue.  The donor is always treated with respect.   

The Medical Liaison Officer is the "face" of the Donor Tissue Bank of Victoria. The role consists of communicating and meeting with healthcare professionals, giving them information about donation for transplantation, tissue that can be provided and policies and procedures of the DTBV. The Medical Liaison Officer also oversees the Satellite Bone Banking Program ensuring that participating hospitals have the necessary policies, procedures and resources to comply with the requirements of the Therapeutic Goods Administration and DTBV for donation.  

DTBV Staff Structure

This chart displays the organisational staff structure of the DTBV.